The original West Side team is now down to just two. Dane has now graduated and with Quinn on sabbatical it's time to re-group so West Side can carry on with Kris, Romain, and Cooper et al. In the meantime this post is a reflection on the end of Opti sailing for one lucky West Side member. Some numbers just for fun: In the past 19 days Dane sailed 16 days, 9 straight in Canada. In those 19 days he was in three countries (sort of); in the past 10 months he's boarded a plane to attend or return from a clinic or regatta in all 10 of them; since January, 8 coaches have had their say, and 3 new sails were put into play. Was it all worth it? What's the value? Hard to say, but while in Canada I talked to a lot of parents about why they support this craziness, and they all expressed a similar observation that Opti sailing is a rare opportunity. I spoke with parents of kids that regularly stand on the podium and those still struggling pretty far down in the results. It’s hard to summarize their thoughts, but they include life lessons on preparation, organization, perseverance, winning, and losing. They also highlighted tolerance, sportsmanship, and camaradarie. I’m not sure what Dane will take with him now that he’s moving on, but I do know it’s been a very special experience for him and us as a family. He’s certainly learned to believe he can achieve something remarkable, and that there is a community of people that support him. That in its self is a blessing. So, before he goes I’d like to officially thank all of the West Side families, SBYC and SBYSF, Manny Resano, and all of his coaches for supporting us along the way. Tracy and I remember Dane’s and Quinn’s first Opti regatta. It was in Cabrillo Beach. Carrie Dair loaned us two boats and some pretty weathered sails. At the end of the regatta Dane and Quinn were both thrilled with the performance of the Optis as it was a pretty windy two days and I don’t think they’d ever competed in that much breeze. However, standing dockside post regatta and post clean up one particular parent gave us some advice not to get our hopes up very high about doing well in the Opti class. According to him we were “starting too late, and from the West Coast we had little chance to catch up.” Basically he said we couldn’t do it. Well, maybe Dane didn’t make the World’s Team, or win North Americans, but he certainly accomplished more as a sailor and more as a person than we ever set out to achieve. And, had it not been for the Screve family inviting us into their home and helping us get on the path and fighting to include us even though we were hundreds of miles away off the radar, that certain fellow probably would have been right. So, thank you Beatrice, Francois, Antoine and Romain for setting the stage for a young sailor stuck in Ojai to have an amazing experience. It’s an immeasurable thank you.
See you all soon.
